Soriano makes first career start amid rotation questions

ARLINGTON -- The Marlins are built around strong starting pitching. When the club is going right, the rotation is leading the way. When the starters are giving up early runs and struggling to go deep into games, it takes a toll on the bullpen and puts pressure on a lineup trying to find its groove.

With right-hander Edward Cabrera’s demotion to Triple-A Jacksonville earlier in the week, Miami inserted righty George Soriano into his spot in the rotation out of necessity for his first MLB start.

Soriano went three-plus innings in Saturday’s 9-8 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field. Miami is now 5-15 in the second half, tied with Arizona for the worst record in the Majors after the All-Star break before the D-backs’ evening game vs. the Twins. During this span, the Marlins (58-54) have gone from the top National League Wild Card spot to a half-game back of the third Wild Card position.

This stretch is beginning to resemble an earlier part of the season when the Marlins were unable to get consistent production out of their rotation and had to shuttle arms from the Minors. The starter ERA was 5.67 as Miami went 7-12 from April 23-May 13. In the second half, the rotation ERA is 4.68. When things were going good in June (19-8), the starters posted a 3.00 ERA.

“We've had some guys that have had some length,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “We've had some short starts in the middle of this 13-game run [without a day off]. And when you have some short ones in these 13 games, it takes a toll on your bullpen, and so we're trying to figure out exactly how to get through this thing without burning everybody.”

The 24-year-old Soriano held the Rangers scoreless through the first three frames, limiting them to two walks and two hits with four strikeouts. His velocity was less than 1 mph slower on all of his pitches, understandable considering he was starting rather than coming out of the bullpen.

But things quickly unraveled in the fourth with the Marlins up 5-0. Adolis García walked to lead off the frame, and Josh Jung singled before Robbie Grossman crushed a no-doubter to right for a three-run homer that chased Soriano. At 59 pitches (36 strikes), he was at his limit.

“I got behind the count a few times,” Soriano said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “They took advantage of the situation, and then I missed one single pitch and you saw what happened.”

That began a stretch of seven straight runs for Texas, which took lefty Ryan Weathers deep for a pair of two-run homers in the go-ahead fifth. He later gave up another run in the seventh and eighth, which proved to be the difference.

What will the Marlins do during the next turn through the rotation? Who are some of the options?

Soriano
Through his first 11 MLB appearances, primarily in long relief, Soriano posted a 1.98 ERA. When asked whether he sees himself as a starter or a reliever moving forward, Soriano diplomatically said, “However the team sees me.”

“We'll talk about it,” Schumaker said of whether Soriano would make the next start. “We'll talk about it as a group and see where we're at. But we want to make sure we have guys in the bullpen as well and figure out what that means for the next round in the rotation.”

Cabrera
After walking six batters in 3 1/3 innings Monday against the Phillies, Cabrera was optioned the following day. His 6.08 walks-per-nine-innings rate is the highest among MLB pitchers with 50 or more innings.

Pair that with recurring blister issues, and Cabrera has made seven starts of fewer than five innings. Following the move, Schumaker said it was up to Cabrera to make his way back up to the Majors.

Weathers
The Marlins acquired Weathers ahead of the Trade Deadline to add starter depth, but they kept him at the Triple-A level until long reliever Devin Smeltzer appeared in consecutive games. After going 3 2/3 innings Saturday, Ryan and his father, David, who pitched for the Marlins from 1993-96 and 2004, became the first father/son duo in franchise history, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

“There's some good, some bad, just the glaring bad kind of hurt me,” Weathers said. “Two two-run shots. Felt like I was making some decent pitches, and they just had some good swings.”

RHP Eury Pérez
Miami optioned Pérez to Double-A Pensacola on July 7 to monitor his workload after he had surpassed his career high in innings. The club would have done so sooner, but left-hander Trevor Rogers strained his right lat in his final rehab start. After 20 days off, Pérez has made two truncated starts (45 and 63 pitches), so his time to return could be soon.